Death
by vickydd
Summary: Even in hopes that a monster would finish me this month, I'd hoped it be heroic and worthy and not this painful. And that it wouldn't involve breaking all the bones in my body with a 20 foot drop. I could certainly live – I mean die – without that. I wanted death. This was just the Fates twisted ways of giving it to me. Nico/Percy
1. Death Wish

**Story im trying out, Nico/Percy, dont like dont read, first slash, etc. Review if you like. Um, slow updates. Sorry.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.**

If I had known this was how my life would end, I might have tried to die sooner. I'd much rather die heroically, or even in my sleep when I was old and withering.

Certainly not by losing a fight to a single hellhound, and falling a twenty foot drop into a green little meadow while nobody knew where I was.

Sure, it was a really pretty green meadow and yeah, if I crawled about ten yards to my right I'd get to a little stream that would cure me, but I didn't want to.

Suddenly, I realized that I wanted to die. I know what you're going to say, and no, I haven't hit my head too hard on my way down; although I'm pretty sure the warm liquid leaking down my forehead wasn't bird poop or honey. That was blood and it was my blood.

So much had happened in the last month that I really no longer cared all that much to stay alive. The reason I hadn't offed myself was because there were people who still cared. I didn't, but they did, and we all know I'm a loyal idiot.

So, where was I? Oh, yeah, dying.

Even in hopes that a monster would finish me this month, I'd hoped it be public and worthy and not this painful. And that it wouldn't involve breaking all the bones in my body with a 20 foot drop. I could certainly live – I mean die – without that.

But this just wasn't my month according to the fates. First, after we won the Giant war, I came back home just to spend the entire year catching up with all my schoolwork. Then that winter break after the war I came home to find that my mom was pregnant. Yes, I know your probably thinking that's awesome, and yeah, it was. I was going to be a big brother. Paul's parents who lived in Orlando, Florida invited us to visit them that summer. Since I had camp and wasn't air travel friendly, I was to stay in New York. So they left the day after I went to camp.

They were coming back on June 20th and time passed incredibly fast. That day, Leo, Jason, Piper, Annabeth, and I all went to the airport to pick them up. The rest of the seven had all met my parents only a week after the war was won. Annabeth drove the Camp van and I drove Paul's car. We sat in the waiting area looking at the news that played on the television.

And we waited. The plane hadn't come yet after 2 hours of waiting. I got pretty pissed off with the manager until out of nowhere a huge shadow fell over the sky. The airplane with my mom, Paul, and my baby sister crashed into another plane on the landing field. According to American Eagle Airlines, a thunder storm had hit them on their way into New York and the Pilot had been electrocuted. The co-pilot panicked and barely managed to avoid crashing into the airport.

I remember running to the now broken huge glass windows of the waiting room and looking at the damage, watching it all explode. I remember Annabeth crying as she hugged me. I remembered hearing Leo saying that it might not be them; Jason's eyes widening when he heard of the thunder storm; Piper's sobs.

I remembered putting all my grief into hunting down Nico to say goodbye to my parents. I remember trying to write a damn eulogy when all I could do was get the paper wet as my ADHD acted up horribly. I remember the huge Tsunami that hit all of the east coast; Paul's parents hugging me; Annabeth finishing my eulogy; Piper holding my hand; Thalia shedding a single tear as I hugged her; Leo not knowing what to say; Frank standing firmly under the weight of the casket; Jason's poker face never breaking; Nico putting a small hand on my shoulder as if he was seventeen and I was fifteen; The man in a black suit with green eyes and black hair placing a flower on my mom's chest.

And I realize that thinking about it had made the blood on my face wet with tears. That wasn't the best combination. The worst part was that it was only the beginning of my horrible summer. July 2nd, when the funeral was finally over, I'd returned to camp trying not to think that it was lucky I'm almost 18 or I'd be put into the foster system. Annabeth never left my side anymore. And I don't think I could have lived through it without her. But the next year would be our Senior year, and I didn't even want to think about that. On Firework night I went to the beach with Annabeth, but half of me wasn't really there.

I left camp that weekend and went to visit Olympus without Annabeth. I met Athena there and asked for her daughter's hand in marriage. She gave me a week worth of tasks to complete in which I did. She gave me a ring made of celestial bronze with an emerald on it. "What do you want engraved?" she had asked me. I told her to write Always – Seaweed Brain. She rolled her eyes but complied.

It seemed that in the week I was away Annabeth had been very busy. I came back on July 11th very late so at midnight, I decided to sneak into the Athena cabin and wake Annabeth up. She'd been so surprised and happy and we spent the night at the lake eating horrible blue cupcakes and I felt good; I'd missed being happy. At dawn, when we stared up at the rising sun I said there was something I needed to ask her. She said there was something she needed to say too. I let her go first.

"Percy, I was offered a full scholarship to Harvard this week." she said.

"That great! At least you know where you're going after high school." I had said, my happy state not bothered by her glum face.

"That's the thing Percy. It's for next year. I'm skipping my senior year and moving to a Harvard dormitory after camp this summer. I already said yes. It all happened so fast. They called me this weekend and I - Percy?" Annabeth noticed my face suddenly downcast.

I looked up at her eyes, my face resembling a broken baby seal. "You- you accepted without asking me?"

"I didn't know where you were and honestly, this opportunity is too good to pass up. Percy, I love you, that doesn't change. We can make this work." She looked at me pleadingly, hoping I'd accept it and move on. But I didn't.

"How? I can't just get up and move - Paul would have wanted me to finish up in Goode. I don't have the grades to get into Harvard. I thought. I thought we were going to New Rome. You said that's what we would do. Remember?"

"Percy, things change, and it's not like I can just refuse a completely arranged for scholarship." Annabeth told me in a _are you stupid_ voice.

"You could have waited. You could have asked me." I said quietly.

"But I thought you'd want me to follow my dreams! You and I both survived this long in the mortal world, and if that's what's bothering you then it shouldn't. I can protect myself." Annabeth's voice had slowly elevated and their was a flare of temper in her words.

"What about our dreams Annabeth? My dreams! Your fatal flaw is clouding your judgment." My voice escalated on its own accord. We had been sitting but Annabeth stood up and I ignored how pretty she looked against the pink sky.

"The only thing, clouding my judgment, is you!" She shouted, suddenly angry at me.

I stood up, dusting myself off and taking the ring out of my pocket.

"Me? I'm the problem? So much for always, huh?" I gave her the ring case forcefully. She gasped when she saw what it was.

"Percy, I'm sorry-"

"No, Annabeth I'm sorry. I really am sorry for being such a problem. Take the ring. I don't need it anymore." I was about to stalk away when I heard a sniffling and saw Annabeth shed a tear behind me.

"Goodbye Annabeth."

So yeah… That's how that went down. Nope, Tartarus can't break us but Harvard did it in a series of 10 minutes. I had considered apologizing plenty of times. But I always apologize. It was her turn. And a restless night turned into a week and I found that I only had my friends left. Word of our break up spread quickly but nobody knew why. I didn't tell anyone why either.

Murphys law seemed to stand out as my situation only got worse. On July 19th, a Friday, our capture the Flag game took a twist for the worst. Miranda Gardner had been stabbed in the back on my side of the field. We got her enough ambrosia and nectar so that she wouldn't die, but we still wanted to know who did it. When the blade was removed from poor Miranda's back, everyone's, mine included, eyes widened as Riptide of all blades was revealed. Immediately, all the eyes looked to me as my hand looked for the pen in my pocket.

"I -I didn't. You can't believe that I- I wouldn't!" as everyone still stared at me, I tried my best not to cry. I turned my back and ran. Ran until I encountered Grover wandering in the woods. Grover asked me what was wrong and I told him everything. I hadn't seen him in 6 months. Grover hugged me as I cried. Then, a hell hound appeared out of nowhere and scratched Grover's arm. I pushed Grover out of the way and here I am.

Wanting to die. I didn't have parents. I didn't have a girlfriend. The camp thought I'd tried to commit murder. I couldn't protect my friends. And I was dying in a pretty little green meadow with nothing better to do than recount all my horrible memories. All the people I'd let down. All the people who died because of me. The people who almost did too.

Getting tired of my emotional turmoil, I sighed, my lungs straining against the movement. Why wasn't I dead already?

Out of nowhere, a black figure tumbled into the meadow. For a second, I thought it was the hellhound, shadow traveling to finish me off, but no. It was Nico di Angelo.

The boy stumbled a bit before opening his eyes and shaking his head a bit and looking around. He yawned, his eyes trailing until they were suddenly on mine, alert.

"Percy!"

But I couldn't really hear him, because I was about to black out. Yes, my body is choosing now to die – when something good happens. Not that the boy who hates me for letting his sister die coming to my rescue was any _good_.

"Percy, Holy Hades, what in Poseidon's name happened to you?" Nico had rushed over and was kneeling down next to me now.

I figured I didn't exactly look pretty. I knew I had blood on my face, and a bone or two sticking out in the wrong way. "I honestly. . .doubt," I paused to cough up some blood. "Hades is. . .all that. . .holy."

Nico's eyes widened but he didn't respond, he probably felt that I was dying. Quietly, he put his arms under my armpits, making me whimper in pain.

"Nico," I gasped, blood spitting on his black shirt. "What–?"

I couldn't say anything else because a horrible feeling of pain overpowered my senses, making me unable to do anything but bite my lip and scream. "Ni–"

The 14 year old glared at me. "Shut up and don't die."

I shut up.

But the pain didn't stop. I wanted to know what Nico was doing. I couldn't see anything but rather horrible black spots that clouded my vision. It felt worse than in Tartarus when I almost died.

But suddenly, my head was wet. I thought it was blood, cause really, I didn't have all that much of it _in_ my body. It wasn't blood though, because blood loss didn't make my vision clear, water did.

And soon I was completely under. I saw black jean cladded legs standing in the soft current. I closed my eyes.

**Im really sorry if this sux, I didn't proof read, but PLEASE review if you want another update, im slow. Lol. If u read my other stories u know. And reading HOH will be updated in Feb. Sorry. The exchange student will be rewritten in the summer. You Read my mind, I have no idea, sorry. Truth or dare? Not lkely. Heheh, I love u guys.**

**Love,**

**Vickydd**


	2. Stitches

**I liked this plot bunny, so here's the next chap. It has a lot of monologue so if you think it was shorter than the other one, it's still longer. I tried to be somewhat sappy and humorful, but I went on the angsty side, not sorry to say. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.**

To say the least, I was surprised I actually woke up. I was also surprised when I didn't wake up in the water.

I almost thought I was back at Calypso's Island before realizing that Calypso didn't have an island anymore. She lived in camp, with Leo.

Where was I then? I don't know, but it was dark. It looked like a tent canvas and it might have been the hunters, but I didn't think so. I felt a cool breeze against my bare chest. My eyes trailed to look at myself; I was only wearing my blue boxers. I tried to turn my head around, but it wasn't easy.

"Stay still, you idiot." Near my side sat Nico, holding a baggie of ambrosia and a cup of nectar. I blushed.

I tried to say something – I don't even know what – but my mouth didn't cooperate. "Ugh."

I would have tried again, but suddenly, Nico poured the cup of Nectar on my chest and - gods - did it sting.

"Aagh! Ni–" I paused as sudden relief entered my system. " –co. . ."

Nico looked at me and sighed, as if exhausted. "Sorry."

"It's ok," I said slowly, finding it hard to form words. "Where are we?"

Nico glared at me. "That doesn't matter. What does though, is what the Hades happened to you? You were an inch from death!"

I cringed, accidently really hurting my ribs. I didn't know what to say. I didn't want to tell him. "I- I fell."

"You fell? No Styx, you fell! You were broken and bleeding when I found you!" Nico looked enraged. A thought came to me.

"Why were you there, anyway?" I asked suspiciously.

"I was looking for a hellhound that escaped recently. But don't change the subject! There was water less than 10 feet away, why didn't you do something?" Nico glared again and I looked anywhere but at him.

"I didn't. . .see it." I knew it was a shameful lie. It was water, I didn't have to _see_ it.

Nico knew this too. "Liar. You could've sensed it. You could've called it. Why didn't you call out, or something! You would've died." I felt his dark eyes making holes through my forehead. My foot was very interesting at the moment.

"Maybe it would be better that way," I whispered, immediately sensing it was the wrong thing to say.

"How!? You have a camp that looks up to you and a girlfriend that loves you! You can't die!" Nico stood up, and boy did he look angry. Somewhere inside me I registered his words and fury pulsed through my veins.

With adrenaline from my anger, I sat up, forgetting about my nudity. "I have none of that! And I _can_ die! I wanted to!"

Nico turned around, his back to me and I could've sworn he was blushing. "Lie back down before you hurt yourself," he said, utterly calm.

I ignored the burning and gave his back a steely glare. "No. I don't want to lie down. I want to know where I am and I want to know why you didn't let me die, Nico."

Nico swiftly turned around. "Shut up Percy! Just shut up."

I didn't know what to say. Nico had never looked this mad at me. The shadows were closing in around him and he glared at me like he did when I told him his sister died.

"Why do you care? You haven't done anything but ignore me since the war. I tried to be your friend, the guilt killed me, I tried to say thank you, but all you did was push me away! I'm sorry for whatever I did to make you hate me this much." I rambled, not happy with being told to shut up.

Nico's glare seemed to hurt more than my injuries. "I don't hate you."

"Could've fooled me." I said, succumbing to my body's pain and lying back down. I wished I could leave and throw myself off some other cliff.

* * *

When I fell asleep, I didn't think I'd be visiting the Fates. But since I'm a demigod, I never really get much of a choice.

The old ladies were sitting at the same fruit stand I'd last saw them 5 years ago. I'd changed a lot in that time, but them? They were perfectly the same, bigfoot socks and all.

This time though, the sock was sea green and I was certain that it was mine. Luke wasn't gonna be the hero this time.

I saw the one on the right lift up the scissors and desperately hoped she was putting me out of my misery. The one with the scissors gave it to the one in the middle and the one on the left held up my string.

The middle one opened the blades up. My heart beat accelerated.

"_Perseus Jackson,_" the three old ladies spoke at the same time. "_A hero who wants to die._"

The one on the right spoke alone, "_The fates were never known for their mercy._"

The middle one continued by herself, "_But we have made an exception._"

The left one spoke, "_Are you ready to die?_"

I was about to say yes when a deep voice rang out, "No."

Suddenly, I was no longer with the Fates. Instead, Hades towered above me in godly height. I was in his palace in the underworld. And the fates weren't killing me.

"Lord Hades," I bowed, thankful that I was not injured in my dreams.

"Stand up, ungrateful sea spawn," Hades ordered and I complied.

"What do you require, uncle?" I asked, curious to know why he interrupted my execution.

"Your death would be nice," Hades muttered under his breath.

I fought not to roll my eyes. "I believe you sort of just stopped that from occurring. May I ask why?"

Hades shrunk to my size. "Don't smart mouth me, Jackson. I have seen your future. If you die now, my son will never find happiness. "

My eyes widened, and my earlier anger at Nico returned. "What do I have to do with your son? He hates me."

Hades smirked, as if he knew something I didn't. "If he hated you, you would be dead by now, I assure you."

"But what do I have to do with his happiness?" I really didn't see how anything I'd ever done had made Nico happy.

"A very good question. I recommend you ask the love expert, she's the happy one. Do I look like I know all about happiness to you?" Hades narrowed his eyes at me. I gulped.

"Uh…no." I thought he might smite me, but I don't think he wanted to look happy. It would ruin his reputation.

"Good answer, barnacle brat. Be a good boy and wake up now. Just don't upset my son." I felt the threat behind the words. "_or I won't save you next time._"

* * *

I woke up to the sound of light snoring. It felt like my brain had gurgled my dream but instead of spitting it out, it swallowed. And it did not taste good.

I stupidly tried to sit up, still in my dream. I grunted loudly and lay back down, panting.

Nico sat up almost immediately, wide awake. I figured he was a light sleeper.

"Idiot," Nico muttered as he grabbed some bandages from the floor next to my makeshift bed. Sitting up had opened a gash on my forehead and I felt the warm blood swirl into my vision.

Nico took a bandage and opened it, kneeling beside me. He took off his aviator jacket and placed it behind my head kindly. I glared at him lightly as he placed the bandage on my forehead.

"It needs stitches." Nico said lightly.

"It needs more ambrosia." I replied snappishly.

"You already have a fever. You need stitches." Nico insisted.

"And who's gonna stitch me up? You? I highly doubt your medical ability." I didn't need stitches dang it. I hated stitches.

"Who's the one who's kept you alive this far?" Nico had a point.

I didn't answer. "Just pour some water on me."

Nico sighed and responded, "Already did, the cut still needs stitches."

"Where are you gonna get a needle and thread?" I looked away from his stare.

"I carry some in my jacket. Not the first time I need to heal and cant get ambrosia or nectar." Nico informed me.

I sympathized slightly. I hated not having God food when it was necessary. Not seeing another option as the bandage on my head continued to leak blood, I sighed. "Fine."

Nico didn't say anything and pulled out his medical supplies and removed my bandage. I found myself watching intently.

"This is going to hurt so you might want to think about good thoughts," Nico handed me a piece of black cloth. "Bite this."

I did as I was told, glaring at the needle.

"Ready?"

I gave Nico a look that said, _"Shut up before I stick that needle up your –"_

He got the message and glared at me. It seemed like this was a perfect opportunity to perfect my deluxe I'll Kill You Later stare.

I closed my eyes when I first felt the needle. The pain made them flutter open and catch sight of the son of Hades. I ground my teeth into the black fabric and cursed at Nico like a pirate.

When he was done with the five stitches that now closed up my forehead, Nico softly removed the jacket from behind my head and placed my head on the bed softly.

I spit out the fabric. "I hate you."

I said it more as a joke than anything else, but Nico looked heartbroken. He put everything away and lied back down on his own makeshift bed.

"Love you too," the boy murmured quietly.

I felt my heart quench, but I was too mad at Nico to say sorry. Too confused by my dream to understand. Too tired to think of why Nico cared. Too awake to fall asleep.

Too asleep to realize that Nico had meant what he said.

**Sorry If it sux, thx for all the reviews! Really appreciated. And I will update with 5-10 reviews =)**

**Love,**

**Vickydd**


	3. Don't Leave

**I didn't like last chap all that much, too filler sorry. But this chapter will get the story moving hopefully.**

It had been a week since I got stitches. I was mostly cured by now, but standing up took it out of me. Nico usually had to help me and since I was a head taller than the guy, walking took it out of him too.

Nico had finally told me where we were after an argument last night that ended with Nico leaving the tent and me yelling at him till he came back. I was starting to feel guiltier each time we argued. He told me that we were in a safe house Nico had once accidently shadow traveled into. It was located in some tunnel in a park in Maryland. Why Nico had shadow traveled to Maryland by accident was an unanswered question.

In the expanse of the week, Nico and I had only had one conversation that didn't involve arguing. He was curious as to what I mean about not having a camp that looked up to me or a girlfriend that loved me.

I was reluctant to tell him. I mean, I should've guessed he would be the best person to tell, considering his family was all but dead too. But for some reason, it took almost as long as it had for him to tell me where we were as it had for me to tell him what I had meant.

First, he had been surprised. Then confused. Then angry. Then hopeful. A blush had actually spread on his cheeks. I asked why he was blushing and he was once again at my throat in arguments.

To say the least, I was quite confused by hi actions. One day, I could get nice and sympathetic Nico that was often cheerful. I sometimes got him to crack a smile. Rarely. But the other days were horrible, either I or him woke up grumpy and that was our mood for the day.

Currently, it was one of those days. I was in a horrible mood. Nico had gone out to get us food. I was in the tent, playing with Riptide. I held the bronze sword on my fingertips.

I wanted to know who tried to frame me.

But I couldn't figure it out.

By accident, I gave myself a small prick on my finger. At first, I found it hilarious. I managed to finally cut myself with my own sword. I held my finger and put pressure on the top of my finger. The red velvet liquid pooled into my finger and dripped onto my other hand. I was about to get wipe off the blood on my shirt and get a band aid when a thought came to me.

I think I stared at Riptide for three full minutes before doing anything. Tentatively, I slowly brought the sword tip to my palm. What was I doing?

I didn't know.

I put an inquisitive amount of pressure on the tip and into my skin, trying to break it. Trying to see the velvety red liquid leak out again. After a minute of putting pressure and finding that nothing happened, I wondered what I was doing wrong.

Was my fear and confusion on why I was doing this not allowing me to purposely hurt myself? I dug hard into my hand and slid the sword across my palm. Almost instantly, pain flooded my system.

I heard a smash and looked up. My eyes were wide. I just realized what I had done. I had cut myself. Intentionally. Like I didn't get enough of that from monsters.

And Nico saw me do it. The boy had shadow traveled into the tent and I hadn't noticed him. At his feet lay some Chinese noodles that spilled onto the floor. His arms were still holding the air, palms open. He looked pale – paler than I'd ever seen him.

I felt blood drip onto my leg and looked down, Nico's eyes following mine.

The cut on my hand was deep but nothing that a taste of ambrosia couldn't cure. But that didn't scare me. Nico's reaction did.

". . . Percy," Nico breathed out.

"I can explain! It was an accident, you see? I was playing with Riptide and accidently slid it across my palm," I gave a nervous laugh. "They don't call me Seaweed Brain for nothing, right? Nico?"

Nico was still standing there mouth agape. I hid my hand behind my back and stood up. Trying to ignore my body aching, my head screaming, and my hand burning, I walked to Nico. He put his head down and glared at the floor.

"I'm sorry," I said, not really knowing what to say in this situation.

"You don't have to apologize to me, I didn't know it was this bad. . .why didn't you tell me? I could've helped." Nico said quietly, sounding feeble.

My horrible mood returned. "How? By arguing with me all the time? By still acting the same way you have since the Titan war? All I ever get from you is bull. I don't even know why you're helping me. I don't want your help."

I turned away from Nico and grabbed my sword and quickly slid the pen back into my pocket. I was dressed in my jeans and one of Nico's many extra-large black shirts. I wanted to take it off, but considering Nico had thrown my shirt away, I didn't really have anything else. I was about to leave the tent when an arm caught my wrist.

I looked back at Nico, not expecting what I saw in the least.

Nico was _crying_. His eyes were red and there were tear tracks on his cheeks. It broke my heart.

Sadly, the wrist he caught had the bleeding hand. I pulled it away roughly. Giving Nico a _What do you want?_ look. It would be better for the both of us if I left. Permanently. Screw what Hades had said.

"Don't. . ." Nico whispered.

"Don't what?" I replied impatiently.

Nico looked up to hold my stare, "Don't leave."

I sighed. "Why? Give me a good reason."

It almost looked like he was going to say "Because I need you," but I seriously doubted that.

Nico finally responded, "I – I don't know. Just don't leave, you're still hurt. One monster attack and you're done for."

"Don't you think I want that?" I snapped.

"No. I think you're scared and depressed but you don't want to die, you're just telling yourself you do." He said. I could tell he was right.

I tried to break the tension hastily, already tired from standing up so long. "Wise words, coming from the guy who said that with great power comes the need to take a nap."

Nico's face consideringly brightened, bringing a hand up to wipe his eyes quickly. "A nap that you look like you need; I'll take care of your hand. Lie down before you hurt yourself. Again."

"Fine," I put down my stuff and lied down, feeling the instant relief. "I really don't get why you care Nico."

Nico kneeled beside me and took my hand in his. "I already told you why I care."

"No you haven't," I argued. Nico smiled at me.

"You just weren't paying attention."

* * *

"We should move camp. An _empousai _found me on the way here." The son of Hades said, running a hand through his hair two days later.

"Ok. Where?" I asked him, understanding the problem.

"Well, um, I think we should go back to camp and explain that it was all a huge mistake. They must be worried about you. Grover, you know." Nico sounded like he didn't like the idea himself, but was considering it.

"No. I'm not ready yet." I said shortly. Nico gave me a look but dropped the subject.

"Then where do you suggest?" he asked.

I thought of all our options. "We can move into my parent's apartment in New York. They left it for me."

"But how will you pay for the bills?" Nico asked and I wondered if he was always this smart and thoughtful.

"I'm not poor anymore, Nico. My mom's book is still a bestseller. They both had life insurance." I said grudgingly. I didn't like talking about them.

Nico nodded. "I'll help. My dad usually gives me an allowance of sorts."

"Whatever floats your boat. When do we leave?" I asked, happy that I could now walk almost normally other than the small limp in my right leg.

Nico's creepy smile entered his expression. "Now. I never said I killed the _empousai_ and I'm pretty sure it's on its way here."

I laughed, shaking my head. "Ok."

After Nico and I had both packed everything up (which really wasn't all that much) Nico awkwardly blushed and held his hand out for me to hold.

"Nico?" I asked, unexpectedly not being able to contain my own blush.

"You have to hold my hand if you want to shadow travel anywhere, fish face." Nico replied, giving his hand a shake. I laced my fingers through his. He blushed. I pretended not to notice.

I think that Nico's lack of contact makes him blush whenever he did make contact. But that didn't explain why I was blushing.

"Hold on," Nico told me. I nodded, not meeting his eyes.

We appeared in an abandoned alleyway in New York City. I wondered why Nico didn't just send us right to my apartment. He saw my look of confusion and said, "We're going out to eat."

"Oh." My cheeks burned and his did too, "Where?"

"You're the Yankee here, not me." Nico said.

I nodded and let go of his hand. "Point taken. Where are we again?"

"I'm pretty sure were on the corner of your street." He shrugged.

I started my way out of the alleyway, "Ok, I have the perfect place. Come on."

**Update. Wow, lol, thankyou for the reviews and sorry for the angst. I'll update with 5-10 reviews.**

**Love, **

**Vickydd **


	4. Love Bites

**Hehehe….long time no update! But im alive, and here u go…**

I opened the door to a small Italian place, waiting for Nico to head in. He blushed and did so. Inside, there were only about a dozen people chatting and talking. Some looked up at as, their mouths slightly open.

Did we look that bad?

I knew my jeans were quite damaged and I hadn't brushed my hair in ages, let alone take a shower. Just occasional washes in a stream near the safe house.

Nico looked better than I did, but his dark attire probably didn't help. The restaurant wasn't fancy and I'd thought we'd be ok, but even in the summer, we were underdressed.

I ignored the looks and followed Nico to the table in the far most corner. As we passed, a girl that looked to be about my age winked at me. I smiled feebly and tried not to cringe. I was staying away from girls for a while.

I sat down, internally sighing. Would I ever be in another relationship? I'd been so certain that Annabeth and I were . . . meant to be. It didn't seem possible.

Nico and I sat in comfortable silence that was soon broken by a cheerful feminine voice, "Hi, I'm Aphrodite and I'll be taking your order today boys. What would you like?"

Did I hear that right? Aphrodite? Here in New York? Serving our table? My heart stopped and Nico paled considerably.

When I looked at her, Aphrodite was as stunning as always. For a second, I almost thought she had green eyes and black hair before all I could see was blonde curls and dark eyes.

"For you to disappear," Nico gritted his teeth and I sent him a warning glare. We do not want to anger Aphrodite.

I tried to make proper thoughts since Aphrodite was messing with my hormones. "Lady Aphrodite – hi, um, no offense but what are you doing here?"

She smiled widely and scooted into the booth next to me, unbearably close. She wore a pink striped white short dress with an apron around her waist. Her make up seemed more perfect than ever. She smelled like lemon shampoo. She smelled like Annabeth. Aphrodite slowly crossed her legs and wrapped her arms around my waist. I tried pulling away to no success. Nico glared from across the table.

Aphrodite spoke, "Oh, Percy, Percy, Percy. No wonder this one's love sick. You look better than ever."

I barely heard her over the sound of my heart beating wildly. I didn't even notice Nico blush.

I tried to say something, finding it extremely hard. "Wha-"

Aphrodite unhooked one of her arms from my waist and put it to my lips, "No, no, no, no need to talk."

Nico said something I didn't hear. The rest of the world didn't exist anymore; just Aphrodite remained. Softly, her lips pressed to mine and I fell asleep.

* * *

"Sorry 'bout that, Percy, just had to talk to you two sweethearts separately. You know how it is." Aphrodite whispered into his ear, slowly pulling away from their embrace.

They were in the little Italian place, but it was empty. My head finally seemed to clear, "What did you do to Nico? Everyone else? Where are we?" I asked Aphrodite, eyes wide.

"You're asleep, Percy." Aphrodite gave me a Cheshire grin. The little Italian place turned into a bedroom. "Nico is perfectly fine. He's just having a small talk with me, that's all."

I gave her a look. "You're in two places at once?"

"It's not that hard. Love is everywhere Percy. But it is very easy to overlook." Aphrodite sat on the bed and motioned me over. I obeyed cautiously and sat about a foot away from her. She looked me hard in the eyes.

"Who are you pairing me up with this time?" I questioned. She flipped her hair and leaned back on her arm.

"Oh, I'm not doing anything. You're the one who has to fall in love; I can just make it trickier or simpler. My choice. And Percy, darling, I've already told you that your love life will be interesting," she said.

I snorted. "You might have mentioned it."

"Tell me, Percy, what do you see in me?" Aphrodite asked, looking at me strangely. She almost looked as serious and hardworking as Athena, as if she was having trouble figuring out my feelings. I didn't blame her, I didn't even try to figure them out anymore.

I decided to comply with her request, "You look like Annabeth, but your eyes are too dark."

Aphrodite arched an eyebrow, "I see. . ."

"What do you mean?" I asked shortly.

She didn't answer. Instead, she winked at me. The next minute, she was straddling my hips. Since I was too startled to react, I let her. She leaned forward seductively. "That's all I need to know, Percy," she said.

Aphrodite kissed my collar bone and peppered my jawline with short kisses. Since I was a teenage guy, I placed my hands of her hips and let myself be seduced by the goddess of love who looked like my ex-girlfriend. Softly, she bit down into a sensitive area in my neck and I moaned involuntarily. "Time to wake up now," Aphrodite pulled away from my neck and looked me in my lust clouded eyes. "But a piece of advice, Percy, lay low; the gods are looking for you. Stay gorgeous, sweetheart."

She kissed me awake.

I woke up blushing fiercely to very uncomfortable pants. Aphrodite was gone. Nico sat in front of me, redder, angrier, and paler than before.

We looked at each other once and I immediately wondered if Aphrodite had seduced him too. Probably not, since they were in public. So what had she done to fluster Nico so much?

I figured I probably didn't want to know.

Nico spoke up, his eyes focused on something below my jawline. "Percy, your neck."

I looked down but couldn't see anything. "What?"

Nico blushed, "It' all red."

"Oh," was all I could think to say. I brought my hand up to the tender hickey Aphrodite had left me with. Apparently, love did bite.

Nico glared at it. "Did she give you that?"

I nodded slowly. Nico's look darkened, "I swear, I have no mercy for that goddess. She's a b-"

I cut Nico off hastily. "Nico, calm down, it's nothing. She didn't rape me or anything."

Nico stared at me hard. "I wouldn't put it past her."

I opened my mouth but I didn't have anything to say. Would she have raped me? I'd like to say no but like Nico, I wouldn't put it past her.

We both jumped when a voice spoke up next to us. "Hello, I'm Kim. What would you guys like to drink?"

Dinner was a blur after that.

* * *

The apartment was empty. Not that I was expecting welcome party or anything, but it was bizarre. The only thought that came to me is that my mom would be crushing us in hugs by now. Paul would be sitting on the couch and reading the newspaper. But they weren't.

I remembered why I'd used Riptide to hurt myself. I pushed the thought away and turned to face Nico, who was giving me some space and silence to grieve. It was about ten a 'clock and both of us just wanted to lie down and sleep. We had gone shopping for clothes and food after our interrupted little dinner date and hadn't finished until now.

"You can take my room or the couch; I'm sleeping in my mom's room. I'm pretty sure there are sheets in the closet by the bathroom and blankets in the living room. Goodnight." I informed Nico in a monotone, quickly leaving and heading to my parents room.

I took off my jeans and snuggled into the bed, letting myself catch their scent. I wanted to retrieve Riptide and use it again, but thinking of Nico stopped me.

I couldn't do that. My parents wouldn't want me to do that. My friend wouldn't want me to do that. But I did. I wanted to do that so bad.

After a while of mulling the same argument over in my head, unconsciousness found me.

* * *

"Percy! Percy, wake up! Wake up!"

Someone was shouting in my ear. I roughly sat up and tried to punch them. They got me first though and soon I was pinned down, wrists above my head.

I opened my eyes to find a disgruntled Nico panting above me.

"You – you were screaming in your sleep, idiot. I tried to wake you up." Nico said harshly. He slowly let go of my wrists. He pushed himself off of me and stood up next to the bed.

"I. . .I don't remember," I said, closing my eyes and calming down. "Thank you." I breathed out.

"No problem." Nico replied.

A moment of silence passed as we stared at each other. Nico looked slightly shaken and tired, the circles under his eyes stood out. I felt sweaty and tired. When I breathed in deeply, the smell almost brought me to tears.

"What time is it?" I asked Nico.

"I don't know."

He stood up and offered me a hand, "Come'n, I can hear your stomach growling."

I smiled and grabbed his hand.

* * *

**Sorry doenst begin to cover it, I know. But here you go. I'll update after I get 10 reviews. Hopefully sooner. Don't lose hope, Reading the HOH fans, I will try.**

**Love,**

**Vickydd**


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